A Union County
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/10/a-union-county/
Chrysler strikers warn away scab workers. Courtesy of Kings Academy
On Labor Day weekend, with thousands spread out across the lawn that fronts the Black River in downtown Lorain, Ohio, the president of the county AFL-CIO, Harry Williamson, glowingly introduced Tim Carrion, a leader in the citys large Latino community. Carrion then took the stage and announced he was running for mayor in the 2015 election to bring new leadership, new ideas, and a vision of solidarity.
After his remarks, as a raffle drawing for big-screen televisions closed out the days festivities and the sun set behind Lorains abandoned Ford plant, people discussed the dramatic effect Carrions run would have on local politics. They were right, and maybe not just about Lorain.
So whats going on in northern Ohio? Most leftists outside of the state first heard of Lorain after last years municipal elections, when, on the heels of the victories of Kshama Sawant in Seattle and Bill de Blasio in New York City, Labor Notes published a story about Lorains independent labor slate.
Although the article erroneously reported that twenty-two independent labor city councilors were elected in Lorain (in fact, twenty-two out of twenty-four labor-endorsed candidates won in the state of Ohio, thirteen of which were in Lorain County, three of whom ran as independents), whats happening in Lorain does deserve attention. The countys labor movement represents an important model for trade unionists looking to build political power and successfully challenge neoliberalism at the municipal level.